east village recommendations

Hello, I am looking for restaurant recommendations for a nice but casual and relatively affordable restaurant in the east village for a dinner with an old college friend. Hoping to find a place relatively close to the 6 line - bleeker/Lafayette, astor place, etc. Last month we ate at Gemma and liked it but want to try something different (although the price point of Gemma was perfect). Only restriction is that we don't want Thai food! Thanks in advance!!

I would say we would not want to go above $25/entrée (ok if some things on the menu are more than $25 as long as there are a decent number of options below). We may sit and get a mix of appetizers and share an entrée. we will also prob want a cheap bottle of wine, or at least a glass each. it would be nice if we could each get away with paying about $50, including all food, drink, tip...

Bianca on bleecker, which is cash only, makes homestyle Italian food at very reasonable prices. It takes walk-ins only, but if you went early then the wait for two wouldn't be too bad.

siggy's on elizabeth makes healthy food that actually tastes good, especially the salmon burger. again, no reservations policy. very popular with stylish people who workout a lot.

prima (1st and 1st) has an awesome 2-for-1 happy hour from 5-7 and has a great seafood menu--the arctic char is delicious. I wouldn't say this place is cheap, but the price points would be comparable to Gemma.